N.F.L.: ROUNDUP -- NEW ORLEANS

N.F.L.: ROUNDUP -- NEW ORLEANS; Team Fines Ditka For His Gestures

Published: October 19, 1999

Coach Mike Ditka was fined $20,000 by the Saints and issued an apology for two obscene gestures he made to taunting fans after New Orleans lost on Sunday for the fourth straight time.

''Sometimes getting old is not getting smart,'' Ditka said yesterday, his 60th birthday. ''What I did was probably as stupid as anything I've ever done. I make no excuse for it, no alibi. I apologize to everybody -- the fans, the city, the organization, my players and the league. There's no place for anything like that regardless of the amount of frustration or disappointment or anger.''

The $20,000 will be contributed to area charities.

''Our fans have been loyal to us for three decades,'' General Manager Bill Kuharich said. ''The entire Saints organization agree that our fans do not deserve that type of behavior.''

Ditka made an obscene gesture and shouted an obscenity at fans as he left the field at halftime. The fans were booing after the Saints mismanaged the clock and failed to score after having a first down on the Tennessee Titans' 1-yard line with 12 seconds remaining in the half.

It is the first time he has been fined as a coach, Ditka said. The National Football League will not take further action against Ditka, Kuharich said. The league spokesman Greg Aiello confirmed that.

MIAMI

Dan Marino is still complaining about a pain in the neck, and he does not mean Dolphins Coach Jimmy Johnson.

Marino's availability this week is in doubt because of a bone spur in his lower neck discovered yesterday. The backup quarterback Damon Huard will most likely make his first N.F.L. start on Sunday for Miami against the Philadelphia Eagles, Johnson said.

The switch at quarterback comes two weeks after Johnson threatened to bench Marino. The future Hall of Famer went to the sideline in the first quarter Sunday at New England, but only because shoulder spasms hindered the velocity and distance of his passes. Huard rallied the Dolphins to a 31-30 victory.

Marino, 38, underwent an extensive examination yesterday, including a magnetic resonance imaging test and a C-T scan, and the team physician John Uribe found a small bone spur on the right side of the lower neck.

Uribe said the spur is the apparent source of spasms and muscle weakness between the neck and shoulder that began bothering Marino last week.

The bone spur will not require surgery after the season, the Dolphins said.

Marino, who has started 49 consecutive games since undergoing ankle surgery in 1996, received an epidural injection and will continue taking anti-inflammatory medication. He will not practice until at least Thursday and may try to throw then.

MINNESOTA

The Vikings were once a team with Super Bowl ambitions. Now, a fourth loss in five weeks has Randy Moss wondering whether the team can even reach the playoffs.

''I've never really been in this situation in my whole life, playing basketball, football, baseball, anything,'' Moss said. ''So I can't really tell you if we're going to make the playoffs or not. Hopefully we can, but if not, bite your tongue and look for next year.''

The Vikings (2-4) are reeling. They are heading into a difficult stretch against San Francisco, Denver and Dallas without running back Robert Smith, who flew to Tampa, Fla., yesterday for a hernia operation that will sideline him up to six weeks.

His backup, Leroy Hoard, has a mouthful of stitches after biting through his bottom lip Sunday.

He will need plastic surgery and may not be able to practice much this week.

Jeff George replaced Randall Cunningham at quarterback with Detroit ahead, 19-0, at halftime Sunday and led a comeback that was rendered futile when Jason Hanson's last-second field goal lifted the Lions to a 25-23 victory.

CAROLINA

The Panthers' first victory over a team with a winning record in nearly three years carried a significant price tag.

Coach George Seifert said yesterday that three starters -- the Panthers' best offensive lineman and their two most recent first-round draft picks -- would be sidelined for extended periods because of injuries.

The injury reports on left guard Matt Campbell, wide receiver Rae Carruth and defensive end Jason Peter came one day after Carolina's 31-29 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, the first time since the 1996 playoffs that Carolina beat a team with a winning record.

Seifert said that Campbell would most likely miss at least six weeks with a sprained ligament in his right knee.

Carruth, the Panthers' No. 1 draft choice in 1997, has a sprained left ankle that Seifert said would likely to sideline him at least a couple weeks.

And Peter, Carolina's top pick in 1998, had to leave Sunday's game because of what the team called tendinitis in his left shoulder.

Peter offered a different assessment of his injury, however, saying that he was experiencing numbness in his left arm and hand and would be sidelined for at least a week.